#i love skyfish and its silly concept very much

[walkman-cat]

happy sts!

yap about skyfish this is a threat 🔫

- @vsnotresponding

hihi thankyou for letting me skyfish wbwb!

skyfish is a story currently in the Very Early stages (came up with it last month)! i'm thinking that it's gonna be part-heist-of-the-week, part-slice-of-life wbwbw.

i might ramble a bit about the worldbuilding wbwb!

skyfish's setting is a planet where birds do not exist, replaced instead by swarms and shoals of fish (of varying sizes and types) who live in the air (hence the name!). most of the planet is taken up by sprawling cities built from the ground-up, which has resulted in a layered effect.

basically, there are two main layers to any city, with their distinct cultures/ways of life: the upper city and the undercity (which can be split into the narrows and the under-narrows, but this depends on who you ask).

the undernarrows is the lowest layer, with winding alleys, narrow (which is where the name 'narrows' comes from) streets, and cramped buildings. because the rest of the city is built on top of it, little natural light reaches the narrows, so it's mostly lit up with lanterns and lights. (the vibe is kind of like the slums in stray, because i love the deisgn and locations of it wbwbw). the undernarrows has a reputation for being seedy/disreputable.

the distinction between the undernarrows and the narrows is very slim (although many people from the undercity would disagree)– as the narrows is just the higher layers of the undercity, it still has the narrow streets and stacked buildings, though there's more space both in the streets and the buildings. the narrows sit in the shadow of the upper city and get little view of the sky itself, but there's less of a distinct day-night cycle there than in the undernarrows, as the narrows are lit day-round by an array of neon signs and lamps.

it's easy to travel between the levels of the undercity, and many people in the undernarrows may work in the night market of the narrows. community is a big part of the culture of the undercity, and the main currency not the official credit system of the Inter-Astral Alliance that the planet is a part of.

the undercity also mostly shares the same customs and beliefs, the most notable being that the skyfish are the dead, and that being a skyfish is an in-between stage between death and rebirth. blue and green-tiled buildings can be found throughout the undercity where one can pay respects to one's ancestors and dead relatives (they're the places of worship basically wbwb). eating the skyfish is so frowned upon it's almost taboo (though more desperate families can and do eat skyfish) and oftentimes those who are known to eat skyfish are ostracised.

meanwhile, the upper city (the highest level) is completely open to the sky. it's the richest part of the city, with most important officials and people with space-based occupations living there, as well as large concert halls, the more prestigious universities/schools, &c. there's a lot more space up at the top, with wider places to walk and space for skyships to move. it's also the base of operations the planet's trade and the Inter-Astral Postal System, so it also houses many people who do not come from the planet.

in the upper city, the dead become stars, and if you pay the dead respects/give them regular offerings, the stars will shine favourably upon you. skyfish are considered to be just fish, and are a large part of diet (which is a source of contention with the undercity).

it is, however, more difficult to get from the undercity to the upper city (it is, it should be noted, easier to descend than ascend)– there are cable cars and staircases that rise up, but they can be time-consuming and/or strenuous methods of travel. the upper city and undercity also have separate dialects (though everyone is taught the standard language of the IAA), which can cause issues/confusion.

most of this worldbuilding still needs finetuning/is up in the open as i continue to work on the story, but i like it, and it's fun to think about how where the main character's come from in the cities affects how they think/interact with other people.

(i'm also so sorry for the metric ton of words wbwbw! i hope it makes sense and if not i'm sorry wbwbw)